chres·tom·a·thy (kr-stm-th)
n. pl. chres·tom·a·thies
1. A selection of literary passages, usually by one
author.
2. An anthology used in studying a language.
3. Another damn stupid liberal blog

Tuesday, September 02, 2014

Pen and Brush: Supporting Women and the Arts

I recently talked with Janice Sands, Executive Director of
Pen and Brush, a NYC non-profit that supports the work of women artists. I
spoke at length to her about the mission of Pen and Brush and its 120 year history.
A new website promoting the organization, the work that it does, and the
artists it supports has been recently launched. Sands spoke in detail on a variety of topics,
particularly on the subject of its feminist identity.

KC: When did you
first identity as a feminist? Do you remember the circumstances and story
behind it?

JS: I don’t
remember a time that I wasn’t feminist in my views and attitudes. All of
the women in my immediate family - mother, grandmothers - were very
accomplished and worked at professional jobs. My mother graduated from Case
Western Reserve University with combined BA and RN degrees – before WWII.
I was always encouraged to believe that women were strong and capable,
intelligent and masters of their lives.

When I went to college in the 60’s, I found very activist
communities. It was barely 3 years since the civil rights march from Selma to
Montgomery Alabama, the rise of student activism and Mario Savio’s iconic free
speech oration. It was also the beginning of the full-fledged women’s movement,
the publication of Women and Their Bodies
– later changed to Our Bodies Ourselves,
making the clear case that women should know about their bodies, be able to
express themselves with their doctors and have the right to make decisions
about birth control and abortion.

It was exciting, and to use an overused word, empowering.
Angela Davis was on campus and spoke articulately and passionately about
civil – human – rights. This was a time when the emotional and
intellectual worlds of women came together and crystalized into the modern day
tenets of, I think both the second and third wave of feminism,
self-determination, equal opportunity – equal rights.

KC: Third Wave
Feminists have often felt excluded from the larger discourse, or believe
themselves to be little more than tokens in larger feminist movements.
Specifically, they do not always feel welcome in gatherings or initiatives
comprised mostly of women a generation above them. Is this desire for inclusion
reflected in what you bring to light with the art you display?

JS: We believe
that our program – the presentation of art and literary fiction by women – is
democratic and entirely merit-based. We are an organization for women in the
arts, but our approach is not based on affirmative action which we think
perpetuates the idea that women’s accomplishments only stand up if they are not
compared to men’s accomplishments. Our view is actually the opposite, and
works to address the misconceptions that have persisted about women and what
they have to say, visually or in words.

The important aspects always present in good art and writing
are honesty, proficiency and the capacity to understand and comment on the
world, culture and society. So, the perspectives of women from the second or
third wave are treated equally. As an organization, we don’t use the creative
work of women to express any aspect of feminism. The work, itself, is a
signifier of feminism. Providing a platform for women to have opportunities for
the unconstrained expression of ideas, experiences, aspirations, or accomplishments
is a feminist action.

KC: How do you
establish gender parity in the art world?

JS: First, our
credibility comes from having accomplished professionals from the visual and
literary art worlds be our curators, selecting work we can present to
influencers: collectors, gallerists, publishers, agents. Second, we think we
can have a real impact on the careers of women with a program designed to
counter misconceptions and stereotyping of women in the visual arts and
literature, stereotypes that have been used as reasons or excuses for not
including work by women and under- or devaluing their work.

Third, we choose to present only work by women because it is
a very compelling way to let the numbers - the volume of work –show the
diversity and talent. It’s hard to ignore or dismiss a great deal of work
deemed exceptional by panels of well-respected professionals. And fourth, it’s
our aim to seek parity for any individual woman in the arts, by working for
parity for all women in the arts. We think it will take time to penetrate the
status quo but we have the means and resources to elevate the status and worth
of work by women, with the goal of increasing their numbers in collections and
galleries and in publication lists. In a world where parity exists, women in
art will have their work recognized and valued according to its merit, and not
the gender of its maker.

KC: Why have
women always been underrepresented in the arts? How do you convince people that
gender inequality still exists, even when many believe otherwise?

JS: Women have been underrepresented in the arts for the same
reasons they are underrepresented in many professions. They were
historically denied the ability to acquire necessary skills. Among the
examples of this are the fact that women could not attend life drawing classes
because it was deemed inappropriate and only certain subjects were acceptable, such
as women, mothers and children. What’s more, finding patrons or being
taken on by agents or galleries was deemed unseemly for both the women and the
patrons and agents.

There is a theory that
professions dominated by women – or as some think, “colonized” by women – experience
a devaluation of the skills used, with an accompanying lowering of the monetary
value of those skills. That’s why we think it’s critical to have a
platform for the work of many women, showing how ill-conceived these beliefs
are.

There are many organizations,
groups, and gender equity institutes providing credible research and statistics
showing that women are underrepresented, paid less, and have fewer
opportunities than their male counterparts. It’s certainly a good thing
that some women don’t feel disadvantaged because of their gender, but survey
after survey, study after study irrefutably demonstrates that the majority of
women in the arts experience gender-based inequality.